This is our blog. We write about life in the Florida Keys. It involves a lot of food, life with animals, and other stuff too.

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Sunday, September 1, 2013

VeganMoFo Begins! Let's Be Vegan At The Movies!

Welcome to the Vegan Month of Food! I'm very excited to be an official registered blogger for this worldwide event. Thanks for tuning in, now let's get to it!

I'm not what I consider a big fan of going to the movies. I've gone to movies all my life, and still do, but what I finally came to realize a few years ago is that much of what is put out as movie entertainment is just not my thing. So, instead of saying I'm not a big fan of going to the movies, I guess it's really more accurate to say I'm not a big fan of crummy movies. There's been help for me in this department because I now live pretty darn close to one of the best theaters I've ever been too, it's called the Tropic Cinema and it's in Key West.

The Tropic Cinema has an interesting history, and was essentially the creation of Key West Film Society visionaries. Presently, the Tropic is a sparkling clean, full time, multi-screen theatre, with a gorgeous lobby, comfy seats, and great people. It not only shows films, but also hosts community forums, concerts, festivals, and other events. Films shown at The Tropic range from first run mainstream movies, to independent films, and more. I really enjoy documentaries, and Tropic brings them to our community. The icing on the cake of this place is their snack bar. Being vegan is a mine-field at most movie theaters, but not at The Tropic.

Movies at The Tropic tend to typically be screened for one week only. Sometimes they're held over another week, but not always. I check the movie listings weekly, and when a film is playing I want to see, we make immediate plans. We also schedule our eating around any movie road trip. The Tropic is exceptionally vegan friendly when it comes to their snack bar.

As I have explained, I'm very food-centric, and there's no reason to think this ends when I am a movie-goer. I have never been to any movie theatre that is more vegan-friendly, ever. Not only does Tropic Cinema have oodles of vegan food choices for it's patrons, but it also offers beer and wine, the majority of which are also vegan-friendly (at least as to the wines, I've never investigated the beer selection).

Come with me now, in photos, as we trek to the vegan-friendly Tropic Cinema, won't you?

This is the exterior of The Tropic Cinema.
Marilyn Monroe approved!

The most recent film we saw at The Tropic was Blackfish.

Once inside, you buy your ticket here, at the entrance to the lobby.
It is sparkling clean, bright and beautiful.
The nicest people you'd ever want to meet work at The Tropic.
Actually, I think they are all volunteers;
remember this is a 501(c)(3) not for profit organization.

Our movie was screened in this theatre, called the Peggy Dow Theater.

Hummus! YeahBaby!

These chips are addictive (and vegan!)

Some non-alcoholic vegan bubblies to accompany your movie!

Getting to the nitty gritty now...
A nice selection of beer and wine is available, if you choose to partake.
You can buy wine by the glass, or by the bottle (!!!)
We made fast friends (as is usually the case in the Keys) at the snack bar with the people
in front of us..... they live in Key West, and walked to the theatre that night, so...
they indulged in a bottle of wine and a giant popcorn for dinner.
They are my kind of genius.

Pinch me, I must be dreaming.... nutritional yeast at a theatre snack bar?!! YES!
Here's the vegan topping choices for our popcorn.
My choice is always the same: nooch, Cajun seasoning, salt-free seasoning,
and a dash of cayenne. Popcorn perfection!

If I had to make a "Sophie's Choice" of chocolate, Chocolove would probably be my choice.
I rarely indulge simply because I cannot control myself, I eat the entire bar.
This is vegan.
I think Green and Black's has a shared equipment statement on many of their chocolates.
They used to be labeled "vegan" but as far as I know, no longer are.
It's not that they've added
non-vegan items to their essentially vegan choices,
but rather it's about that shared equipment issue.

Original Skittles are vegan.
May not be the wisest choice, but certainly are suitable for vegans!

Swedish Fish. I've devoted entire blog posts to these candies.
Probably one of the single worst "foods" on the planet, yet (for me at least) highly addictive.
On my birthday last year, the other happy vegan gave me a giant size bag
of Swedish Fish. He thought he was being nice, but I wanted to kill him.
Once the bag is open, it's a feeding frenzy on my end.
I never opened that birthday bag, they sat for about 8 months.
Finally, he opened them and ate them.
He hid the bag from me until they were gone.
That's love.

Got a nice selection of dried fruit & nuts available from a local Nut House.
Not all of them are vegan, but many of them are!

Not all Ghiradelli is vegan, but the 72% is.
The darker the better in my world.

Refer to Skittles above. Wise choice? No. Vegan choice? Yes!

They've even got hot coffee available for patrons!

The other happy vegan choose tea and popcorn.
He's a purist and says "nothing but sea salt belongs on popcorn."
Strange then when I make popcorn at home and douse it with nooch and Spike, he devours it......

My choices for the screening of Blackfish.

Being vegan in the Keys presents is own host of challenges at times, but never at The Tropic. I no longer see movies anywhere in the Keys but there. In fact, we're both actually members now. We bought our snacks, and I took all these photos when we went to see Blackfish. A couple people gave me second looks while I was shooting pictures of candy and popcorn, but that's another great thing about the Keys... live and let live. No one gave me bad looks, no one bothered me while I was doing so. I know most people don't come to the Keys to go to the movies, but sometimes there are film fanatics that want to see a good movie on vacation. And, The Tropic does not let them (or anyone else for that matter) down. They've got our collective vegan backs covered.

When you're in the Keys looking for a movie, the one and only place to go is The Tropic. Vegans rejoice!